What we do

“Sending a police officer underwater in zero visibility without scanning sonar is like sending an officer on patrol without a bulletproof vest” (Sgt Rob Riffle, Dive Team Supervisor, Winnipeg Police Services).

Police, fire, and military first responders are often called for the unenviable task of underwater body recovery with the victim being the result of drowning, marine accident, suicide or homicide.

Side-scan sonar is conventionally used, towed from a vessel at a fixed speed and in a straight line. Tripod-deployed scanning sonar is most often used in areas where side-scan cannot be deployed. Besides target detection, Kongsberg Discovery Canada's high-resolution scanning sonar is used to identify potential diver hazards.

The marine environment for civil engineers is challenging because infrastructure below the waterline is subject to hydraulic forces and environmental conditions. These can severely degrade the condition of the asset, yet the infrastructure is difficult to inspect and assess.

Ports and harbors, dams, inland waterways, locks and canals, bridges, and offshore structures require periodic and unscheduled inspection. Highway and rail bridges that span waterways are subject to scour from hydraulic forces of river flows. Port infrastructure is vulnerable to storm effects and tidal scour, as well as the wear and tear of vessels docking and mooring to their assigned berths.

Kongsberg Discovery Canada is a pioneer in applying underwater acoustic technology for visual inspection of marine infrastructure. Our sensor software can correct distortion to the sonar images by accounting for temperature, salinity, and pressure effects that affect the speed of sound in water. The resultant images are the highest-resolution images available on the market.

Bathymetric surveys are used for various research purposes, including flood inundation, contour of streams and reservoirs, leakage, scour and stabilization, water-quality studies, dam removal, biological and spill, and storage and fill in reservoirs and ponds.

Channels must be mapped and surveyed to ensure proper depths under keel and to identify and remove foreign objects that pose a hazard to navigation. Locks and canals must be inspected to ensure they are able to pass vessel traffic safely. An increasing focus on protecting and preserving habitat for fish and wildlife requires scientific instruments to monitor the species themselves, and any threats arising from pollution or industrial activity.

Many river systems have high siltation loads. Several data regions are also subject to hurricanes and typhoons with their associated storm surges. River authorities need to regularly survey their channels and locks to ensure their clients can operate safely. Kongsberg Discovery Canada offers single-beam and multibeam sonars for high accuracy survey in these critical areas.

Kongsberg subscribes to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The worlds’ oceans form a critical part of planet Earth’s environment. Kongsberg Discovery Canada has several instruments that are used by scientists in their work to understand the worlds’ oceans and the flora and fauna, and mankind’s impacts on them.

Our sensors measure biomass in ocean and lake water columns. Other sensors are used to detect and record seafloor habitats from the ocean’s surface to full ocean depth. Scientific single-Beam and multibeam sonars map coastal and wetland environments and seabed to help authorities and scientists understand fish habitat for spawning and growth, and are used to regulate industrial and recreational use of these areas.

In addition, we work with marine archaeologists in challenging conditions, investigating and recording ancient shipwrecks and sunken archaeological sites. Kongsberg Discovery Canada provides sensors for locating wrecks, and allows researchers to accurately map and record the sites they work in. High resolution sonar is used to map sites.

Sustainability presents a new challenge in the 21st century for the fishing industry. Maintaining fish stocks, minimizing environmental impact, and effective fisheries management are driving principles in the industry today. As a result, the fishing industry demands tools that enable sustainable fishing.

Kongsberg Discovery Canada designs and manufactures an innovative and advanced catch-monitoring system for Simrad that allows you to monitor the fish activity inside your fishing gear using a live video stream, sonar, and sensors.

In addition to acoustically identifying species and fish size, our customers want to see what actually goes into the net and to be able to take action immediately to avoid bycatch. Trawl movement can be viewed in real time. Fish behaviour can also be observed in real time, taking speculation and guess work out of the equation.